Support services for client website after delivery.

[nelsonm]

Hi all,

I want to ask about after website delivery support service agreements.

I'm building a online web based customer scheduling and work order tracking for a client. They have ask about how we would provide support for the site after it's delivered and up and running on their hosting service. Their questions are about availability and response time related to maintenance, problems and failures. Obviously this would involve a service contract of some sort.

Would it be more appropriate to ask this question in the "Website Software Support and Usage" subscription section of this forum?

thanks.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

No, I think you are OK with this in here. ;)

You would obviously have to draw up a support contract with some sort of Service Level Agreement (SLA). Bear in mind that if you are self-employed and have no one to deputise for you, you need to take holidays. ;)

.

[Marshall]

Holidays!? I've heard of that word. ;)

Marshall

[nelsonm]

BeeDeeDubbleU, thanks for responding...

I have searched the internet for service contract examples and templates. In a cursory look, they generally appear to revolve around: levels and types of support, hours of support, contact methods and hours, response times, rates for various levels and type of support, whats included and excluded, responsibilities of of both parties, and indemnification.

I have a lot to think about. As I am self employed, I'm already trying to line up someone as a backup.

I have come to trust this forum and would appreciate it if those who are currently providing web site support could chime in with their thoughts, warning and suggestions. If at all possible, examples of your agreements would be great for me to study or possibly use as a template.

thanks.

[enigma1]

From my experience if your customer's business has problems it backfires to your own business. I've noticed when there's a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork implies several intermediaries involved to get someone what he needs.

Normally basic support includes s/w corrections and technical advice on what the customer needs. Customization options however is a key element for having long-term customers and requires thorough knowledge of the software in question which comes next. It can also be a major source of revenue for small size businesses as the customer business grows.

So you could have an SLA for the basic support you plan to offer with the s/w and thereafter options you can cover related with the s/w your client uses. Maintenance, problems, failures etc are way too abstract. They involve anything from the h/w upto web application and internet connection and you may get involved even if you have nothing to do with it. I would try to have support options at every level but if I'm host and it's a hosting issue I wouldn't want to charge the customer. If I only support the web app, then I still would try to locate the root cause of the problem and give the customer options to decide what to do next. If he asks for a new feature I should be able to provide it otherwise the s/w looks inadequate and my work is poorly done.

And it's very hard to give specific quotes or predict the required time and effort in advance to solve a problem the customer hasn't asked for yet. Many state cost for man hours to get around it. I find it dubious and may turn clients away. I prefer to give an estimate when the problem arises. Customers prefer it over a fixed periodic fee because it's YGWYPF.